Primary prevention of child abuse.

Following a discussion of the ecological theory base for the study and design of child abuse prevention programs, the authors examine 3 categories of primary programs: competency enhancement, preventing the onset of abusive behavior, and targeting high-risk groups. Programs that enhance competencies of families focus on parent skills, child development information, and coping strategies to reduce stress. Programs that prevent the onset of abusive behavior involve media campaigns; information, crisis, and referral services; and social networks at the community and neighborhood levels. Programs that target high-risk groups (e.g., low-SES, single parents, complicated pregnancies) focus on therapeutic strategies. Methodological problems in evaluating child abuse prevention include the lack of appropriate comparison groups, poor choice of outcome measures, and the failure to measure proximal programmatic objectives and distal prevention goals. (50 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A participatory ergonomics intervention to reduce risk factors for low-back disorders in concrete laborers

Construction laborers rank high among occupational groups with work-related musculoskeletal injuries involving time way from work. The goals of this project were to: (1) introduce an ergonomic innovation to decrease the risk of low-back disorder (LBD) group membership, (2) quantitatively assess exposure, and (3) apply a participatory intervention approach in construction. Laborers manually moving a hose delivering concrete to a placement site were evaluated. The hypothesis tested was that skid plates would prevent hose joints from catching on rebar matting, and the hose would slide more easily. This would decrease the need for repetitive bending and use of excessive force. Four laborers were evaluated wearing the Lumbar Motion Monitor (LMM), a tri-axial electrogoniometer that records position, velocity and acceleration. Workers were measured during three comparable concrete pours. Worker perceptions of the innovation utility and exertion were surveyed. During initial use of skid plates, flexion increased significantly (p < 0.001) while velocity, acceleration and moments did not change. After implementing a worker modification, low back velocity, acceleration and moments were significantly reduced (p < 0.05). Reductions in these factors have been associated with decreased risk of belonging to an occupational group with LBDs. Use of secured skid plates during horizontal concrete hose movement may in part decrease the risk of LBD group membership among concrete laborers. Crew participation resulted in skid plates being a more effective intervention. The LMM is a promising tool for quantitative assessment in construction.     

Posttraumatic stress disorder and physical health symptoms among women seeking help for relationship aggression.

This study examined associations between intimate partner aggression and physical health symptoms among a sample of help-seeking women experiencing relationship aggression (N = 388). Using a structural equation modeling framework, the authors found posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms to fully mediate the associations of both physical and psychological aggression with physical health symptoms. The influence of PTSD symptoms on physical health symptoms was partially mediated by anger/irritability. Results were consistent with studies from other trauma groups suggesting that PTSD is pivotal with respect to explaining the effects of trauma on health. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of tactile feedback on movement speed and precision during work-related tasks using a computer mouse

Effects of tactile feedback on movement accuracy and speed were studied. Younger and older participants performed three tasks (1, select and drag word; 2, menu navigation; 3, select and drag cell) using commercial software and a mouse with or without tactile feedback. Task time and error number were recorded. Tasks were divided according to presence or absence of tactile feedback, and participants were divided into subgroups (high, average, low) based on Task 1 performance. Overall, older participants took longer (p < .0001) and made more errors (p < .001) than younger participants. There was an effect of feedback by task in younger participants for all six outcomes (p < 0.02). At the task level, with feedback, younger participants reduced performance time (13%) and errors (24%) on Task 1. Low- and average-performance younger participants benefited most from feedback for Task 1. Older low-performance participants also benefited from feedback for Task 1. For Task 3, older participants tended to take more time and make more errors with feedback. Tactile feedback may enhance performance when feedback is event related. Older people may not integrate sensation as well as younger individuals to enhance performance. Potential applications of this research include the development of tactile feedback interfaces to facilitate computer use.     

Effects of perchlorate on earthworm (Eisenia fetida) survival and reproductive success

The effects of perchlorate on earthworm, Eisenia fetida, survival and reproductive success were evaluated using three types of tests: dermal contact (filter paper), sand, and artificial soil. All studies utilized a range of perchlorate concentrations in order to simulate levels that are likely to occur in the environment under different scenarios (typical soil levels vs. spill levels). The OECD filter paper contact test involved exposing earthworms to the test compound on moist filter paper for 14 days to evaluate earthworm survival under a worst-case dermal exposure scenario. A similar test involved exposing the earthworms to perchlorate-contaminated sand, where earthworm survival decreased as concentration of perchlorate increased, with no worms surviving 14 days at the highest treatment concentrations (>2000 microg/g). However, the perchlorate concentrations that affected the survival of E. fetida are likely to occur only under extreme conditions (e.g. spills). The effect of perchlorate on the reproductive success (cocoon production) of E. fetida over a 4-week test period in artificial soil and a 3-week test period in sand was also examined. Production of cocoons was observed in soil containing up to 100 microg/g perchlorate, with no production in the uppermost treatment groups (1000 microg/g). Cocoon production was highest in the control group, although overall cocoon production appeared to be low. In contrast to the acute toxicity tests, perchlorate did affect earthworm reproduction at environmentally relevant soil concentrations. In addition, preliminary data suggest that cocoons produced under perchlorate contamination did not hatch as well as cocoons produced in control soil despite incubation of both sets of cocoons in clean soil or sand.     

Prior interpersonal trauma: The contribution to current PTSD symptoms in female rape victims.

The purpose of the current study was to disentangle the relationship of childhood sexual abuse and childhood physical abuse from prior adult sexual and physical victimization in predicting current posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in recent rape victims. The participants were a community sample of 117 adult rape victims assessed within 1 month of a recent index rape for a history of child sexual abuse, child physical abuse, other adult sexual and physical victimization, and current PTSD symptoms. Results from path analyses showed that a history of child sexual abuse seems to increase vulnerability for adult sexual and physical victimization and appears to contribute to current PTSD symptoms within the cumulative context of other adult trauma. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Can counterproductive work behaviors be productive? CWB as emotion-focused coping.

The goal of our study was to determine whether some forms of counterproductive work behavior (CWB) may serve to benefit employees. Building on the stressor–strain framework and theories of coping, we investigated whether two forms of CWB, production deviance and withdrawal, serve as a means of coping to mitigate the impact of low distributive and procedural justice on emotional exhaustion. Results from a survey of 295 employed persons from around the United States suggest that production deviance and withdrawal may benefit employees by reducing emotional exhaustion in the face of low distributive justice but not necessarily low procedural justice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Abusive mothers: Perceptions of their own and their children's behavior.

Examined the role of parental perceptions, interpretations, and attributions in child abuse within a social-situational model. This model assumes that certain stimuli (e.g., perceptions) elicit and/or maintain abusive interactions in specific social "triggering" contexts. 12 abusive and 12 nonabusive mothers' (mean age 24.4 yrs) perceptions of their own and their children's behavior, particularly perceptions of intent, negative disposition, and childrearing abilities were studied in 3 triggering contexts: breaking an object, disobedience, and continual crying. Ss also completed the Social Readjustment Rating Scale. No group differences were found in perceptions of intent and disposition. Abusive Ss offered more positive explanations in situations in which their child broke an object and would not stop crying, and they felt significantly more doubt and anger in the disobedience and crying situations. Abusive Ss also faced significantly more stress than the nonabusive group. (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

New directions for research on the psychological maltreatment of children.

This article identifies several research directions for psychologists interested in studying the psychological maltreatment of children and youth. The field of child maltreatment in general has been criticized for its isolation from psychological theory and for compartmentalizing each of the various forms of maltreatment. In order to organize research on psychological maltreatment and on its relationship to other maltreatment forms, two conceptual perspectives are suggested: ecological and developmental. These perspectives are then used to discuss the following three research areas: definitional issues; ecological processes and child outcomes; and protective factors and child outcomes. Attention is also given to policy issues that emerge in our efforts to understand psychological maltreatment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex and ethnicity as moderators in the sexual harassment phenomenon: A revision and test of Fitzgerald et al. (1994).

Fitzgerald, Hulin, and Drasgow (1994) proposed that personal vulnerability characteristics (such as sex and ethnicity) would moderate the effect of sexual harassment on its outcomes. This paper argues that personal vulnerability characteristics instead moderate the effect of organizational sexual harassment climate on sexual harassment because of their role as identity markers within social hierarchies. Using a sample of nearly 8,000 male and female military personnel from four ethnicity groups, the proposition that organizational climate differentially affects sexual harassment frequency across sex and ethnicity was evaluated. Results suggested that sex is an important moderator of these relationships, but that ethnicity is not. Further, sex and ethnicity were not found to moderate the effect of sexual harassment on its outcomes. Potential generalizability of these results to other types of harassment (e.g., racial harassment, bullying), as well as needed future research in this area, is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)